The invention relates to a method and an apparatus for operating a bale opener which removes fiber tufts from fiber bales composed of cotton, chemical fibers or the like. The bale opener has a back-and-forth traveling carriage on which a tower is mounted that supports, with the intermediary of a cantilever, an opening device such as rapidly rotating sawtooth discs or rolls. The carriage travels along and between two rows of free-standing fiber bales, and the opening device remove the fiber in layers from the top of the bales during the travel of the carriage and tower. Upon completion of a pass over a first bale row, the tower, together with the opening device, is rotated 180.degree. about a vertical axis and performs a subsequent pass over a second fiber bale row arranged parallel to the first row along the opposite side of the carriage.
According to a known method, the carriage, with the tower and the opening device, upon completion of a pass over a first bale row, moves beyond the vertical end face (end boundary) thereof. Thereafter, the tower, with the opening device, is turned inwardly, that is, in the direction of the fiber bales, towards the parallel arranged second row for placing the opening device in position to start its working pass over the second bale row. The carriage, together with the tower and the opening device again moves beyond the vertical end face (end boundary) of the fiber bale row upon completion of the opening pass. Thereupon the tower with the opening device is turned outwardly, that is, in the direction away from the fiber bales, towards the first fiber bale row. The movement of the carriage beyond the length (end) boundaries of the fiber bale rows and the rotary motion of the opening device externally of the bale rows are disadvantageous for several reasons. Thus, for the linear travel and rotary motions of the tower and the opening device additional space is required which cannot be utilized for accommodating additional fiber bales. Further, such an increased operational space has to be ensured, for example, by means of optical barriers, guard chains or the like. Further, a turning motion of the opening device externally of the bale boundaries represents a significant safety risk.